For travelers heading to Ladakh, Spiti, Lahaul and Pangi Valley from Manali, Manali Administration has made life a little easier by putting the permit for crossing Rohtang Pass online.

Until now, you could get an online permit for Rohtang Pass, only if you were going to Rohtang Pass for tourism. If you were planning to go beyond Rohtang Pass, you had to get the permit from SDM Office in Manali or from the Gulaba Check Post.

The permit would be issued to a maximum of 800 vehicles per day and that includes motorcycles, cars, passenger vehicles and goods vehicle. Since the permit can only be obtained 2 days in advance, it is a good idea to book it as soon as you can, in order to avoid a headache later.

Motorcycles, cars and passenger vehicles will have to pay Rs. 50 congestion charge for obtaining the permit, while goods vehicle will have to shell out Rs. 100.

Vehicles which are 10 years or older, will not be issued permit i.e. you cannot cross Rohtang Pass from Manali side. However, if you’re coming back from Leh, Spiti, Lahaul or Pangi, there is absolutely no issue and you should be able to cross without any restriction.

New for this year is the restriction on issuance of a permit on Tuesday. Until last year, tourism activity at Rohtang Pass was banned on Tuesday, due to it being dedicated to maintainence of Rohtang Pass. However, vehicles heading beyond Rohtang Pass were allowed to ply on the highway, early in the morning and late in the evening. It remains to be seen, if similar measures are put in place this year as well or if Tuesday becomes a complete no-go day for Rohtang Pass.

People who are planning to outsmart the system by getting a permit for crossing Rohtang Pass and then returning from Rohtang Pass after having fun i.e. use it as a Rohtang Tourism Permit will have their vehicles blacklisted and likely a fine too would be imposed on them. Since this permit is strictly meant for vehicles going beyond Rohtang Pass.

You need to be fairly careful while filling the above form because in case your documents do not match the details in the permit application, you will be turned back from the Gulaba check post.

Overall a welcome move by Manali Administration, though it remains to be seen if the plan to limit number of vehicles crossing Rohtang Pass has a negative impact on tourism and causes headache to travelers this season.